- description
- # The College Colonel.
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
"The College Colonel." is a segment of text, likely a poem, extracted from the larger work [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9) The segment, spanning lines 2469-2510 of the source file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8), was extracted on January 30, 2026, by the "structure-extraction-lambda" process. It is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This segment is part of a collection of poems focused on the American Civil War, as indicated by its inclusion in "Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War." The text was extracted from a file containing the collection's content. The "Melville Complete Works" collection provides the broader context for this poem, suggesting it is a part of the complete works of Herman Melville. The segment is preceded by "In the Prison Pen." (arke:01KG8AJNC78TDEV5WBYGJ6D2ZH) and followed by "The Eagle of the Blue.[12]" (arke:01KG8AJNC7Q1G8RJSW9Q18QAW7), indicating its placement within a sequence of related poems.
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
The poem describes a college colonel returning home after the war. It focuses on the physical and emotional toll of war, highlighting the colonel's injuries and the psychological impact of his experiences. The poem contrasts the celebratory welcome with the colonel's internal state, emphasizing his loss and the "truth" he has come to know through the war.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:28.664Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- The College Colonel.
- end_line
- 2510
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2469
- text
- The College Colonel.
He rides at their head;
A crutch by his saddle just slants in view,
One slung arm is in splints, you see,
Yet he guides his strong steed--how coldly too.
He brings his regiment home--
Not as they filed two years before,
But a remnant half-tattered, and battered, and worn,
Like castaway sailors, who--stunned
By the surf’s loud roar,
Their mates dragged back and seen no more--
Again and again breast the surge,
And at last crawl, spent, to shore.
A still rigidity and pale--
An Indian aloofness lones his brow;
He has lived a thousand years
Compressed in battle’s pains and prayers,
Marches and watches slow.
There are welcoming shouts, and flags;
Old men off hat to the Boy,
Wreaths from gay balconies fall at his feet,
But to _him_--there comes alloy.
It is not that a leg is lost,
It is not that an arm is maimed.
It is not that the fever has racked--
Self he has long disclaimed.
But all through the Seven Day’s Fight,
And deep in the wilderness grim,
And in the field-hospital tent,
And Petersburg crater, and dim
Lean brooding in Libby, there came--
Ah heaven!--what _truth_ to him.
- title
- The College Colonel.